For many lawyers, retirement plan is to keep working

Many lawyers who responded to a survey by American Lawyer Media had a strategy to cope with a falling stock market: Keep on working.

Twenty-nine percent of more than 200 lawyers who responded to the unscientific survey said they would work longer to make up shortfalls in their retirement plans, Law.com reports.

That might not be a bad idea, according to international tax attorney Martin Press of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He says lawyers nearing retirement should calculate if they could live on 4 to 5 percent of their total assets each year. If they can’t do that, maybe they should continue working, Press told Law.com.

Many other respondents indicated they would stay the course, which is consistent with financial advice to maintain a long-term perspective. Kristi Sullivan, founder of Sullivan Financial Planning in Denver, discourages changes based on short-term stock market results. She advises diversification and to “watch as little financial TV as possible,” according to the Law.com story.